https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb By Elanor Ramrath Garner en-us 2022-02-04 18:16:47 UTC 2025-12-03 12:34:29 UTC hello@padlet.com mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2087016069 Garner, Elanor Ramrath. Elanor's Story. Atlanta, PeachTree Publishers, LTD.,
     1999.]]> 2022-03-09 22:31:36 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2087016069 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2087021283 After previously only having Sudetenland province in Czechoslovakia, Hitler completely invaded the country. As a result, Elanor's neighbors who are from there began to bully her and her brother, Frank, for no apparent reason. The text said, "In March 1939, Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. This time, our neighbors across the street avoided us and ignored Mother's greetings. Their kids called us names and continued to taunt us" (10).]]> 2022-03-09 22:37:29 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2087021283 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2119776830 After previously losing his job due to the Great Depression, Elanor's father is offered a job as an engineer in Berlin. Despite the threat from Hitler, and warnings from friends, he accepts it and immediately plans to move him and his family there.
Elanor's father said, "'No, not exactly, Elanor. I was offered a challenging job as an engineer in Berlin at the AEG, the Allgemeine Elektrizitats-Gesellschaft" (12).]]> 2022-03-29 16:48:43 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2119776830 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2120769003 While Elanor and her family are on the ferry to Berlin, they hear that Germany has declared war on Poland. To keep their ferry from being a potential enemy target by Britain, the captain ordered it to be painted with the colors of France. Luckily, they made it without any troubles. Elanor said "Fortunately, we were not detected and did not have to wreck the ship. We were able to continue down the coast of Schleswig-Holstein and Helgoland to Cuxhaven, Germany" (19).]]> 2022-03-30 05:01:43 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2120769003 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2120805398 Despite her knowledge of the German  language, Elanor is struggling to adapt to the new environment. She barely knows German customs, and is struggling in school.   
"I could speak German pretty well, but I couldn't write or read the language. The Gothic letters were so different from English letters, and very difficult to master. Our tutor warned us that in school, if a student's letters stubbornly refused to touch the paper's lines or wiggled backward and forward, the student's grade immediately went down" (27).]]> 2022-03-30 05:33:13 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2120805398 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2120831764 One day as Elanor was walking along the "Gypsy Promenade" to get to her friends house, she discovered something shocking. She saw a shadowy figure, who appeared to be a young soldier, hanging from a tree. Shocked, she ran home to get her mother and to contact the authorities.  
"As I approached, I realized that the man seemed to be floating in midair. When I came near him, I saw with horror that he was a young soldier who had hanged himself from a tree. His limbs were completely still, his face a frozen blue-gray mask" (39).]]> 2022-03-30 05:56:27 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2120831764 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2121929154 As Hitler continues invading Europe, Germany begins to change. Nazi flags are hung everywhere, including over Elanor's house, which upsets the family. Elanor's father decides to hang up an american flag in between two swastika flags. However in fear of persecution her mother took the flag down and said they must hide the fact that they're American. Also, Elanor joins the "girl/boy scouts" of Germany, Hitler Youth, that introduces children to Nazi ideology which her mother isn't fond of.

"Mother tore into the house, yanked the flag from the windowsill, and destroyed it. 'How could you do this?' she yelled at Father. 'You endangered the whole family! Somebody might report us to the Gestapo. Don't you know people are arrested for a lot less than this?'" (44).]]> 2022-03-30 17:03:27 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2121929154 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2122317868 With the bombing of London, Britain retaliates and bombs Berlin which causes everyone to believe another world war is soon to come. Scared for their lives, Elanor, and her mom and dad seek shelter in their basement.

"In August, we began to hear radio reports daily about the German air force, the Liftwaffe, bombing London and other parts of England. One night soon after those reports, the air-raid siren sounded, and we all scrambled for the basement. Berlin was being bombed by the British Royal Air Force" (46).]]> 2022-03-30 21:21:29 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2122317868 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2122327978 Elanor and her family, coming from America, were shocked by this news. Elanor fears that America could mistake her for a German and end up killing her and her family. She also is scared the Germans will think they're spying and prosecute them.

"America's involvement in the war sent me into a tailspin. How bizarre! I thought. The soldiers of the country where I was born, the country I love, will be told to kill me, my family, and my new friends. And the solders of the country of my ancestry, of my beloved Omis, the country where I live, will be told to hate and kill Americans... "(68).]]> 2022-03-30 21:32:59 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2122327978 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2122723205 One day in the middle of winter, Elanor's mom went into labor. Instead of going to a hospital, she stayed home and gave birth with the assistance of a midwife and doctor. Once her brother was born, she immediately fell in love and wished she was the mother.

"At last, in January 18, 1942, Mother went into labor. She preferred to have the baby at home because she was afraid of the bacterial infections that plagued the hospitals. Father and a midwife tended to Mother's needs, and just before the delivery, a doctor arrived to assist with the birth" (72).]]> 2022-03-31 03:05:03 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2122723205 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2122821014 Used to the hundreds of false air raid warnings, one more wouldn't mean much. However, everyone noticed how clear of a night it was and they would be on high alert. After quickly falling asleep, they are all woken up by the sirens and immediately rush to the air raid shelter. Shortly after, they hear the booming and are hit with a massive shock wave that shakes the whole basement and injures a few people. Eventually it stops, but the damage done was like nothing they've ever seen.

"'Oh no!' one of the men yelled. 'Those are flares used by reconnaissance pilots to identify areas for the bombing squads that follow!' Then the distant roar of what sounded like a thousand engines shattered the quiet night. Somebody screamed, 'This is it!' We tumbled down the cellar stairs in wild confusion" (105).]]> 2022-03-31 04:27:57 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2122821014 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2124900371 Elanor's 13th birthday arrived shortly after more terrible air raids, that destroyed her neighborhood. Due to the circumstances, even her own mother didn't have the energy to celebrate with her. Clearly hurt, Elanor left for school without a single "happy birthday" .]]> 2022-04-01 05:56:57 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2124900371 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2124920893 On her way over to her uncle, Onkle Adolf, Elanor witnesses a horrific scene at the train station. A man, who appeared to be a soldier, put his neck to the train tracks just before it arrived and it severed his head clean. She was traumatized and continued having nightmares about this event. Elanor wondered if this, the escaped and starving "prisoners" she saw hiding in the tunnels, and the other suicides were all related.]]> 2022-04-01 06:18:55 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2124920893 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2124932159 As the air raids intensified, all women and children were ordered to evacuate out of Berlin. Elanor, her mom, Frank (her brother), and her baby brother all evacuated to their Fathers siblings house. Devastated that they had to leave him behind, letters were constantly sent back and forth. However, with all the railways being bombed it was seeming more and more unlikely he could get to them soon.]]> 2022-04-01 06:29:34 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2124932159 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2124940116 After a while of not hearing from him, Elanor gets a letter from her father. He said that he joked about a leader in Hitlers regime and someone reported him. He was interrogated all day, but luckily his boss and other co - workers stuck up for him and no evidence was found. Still suspicious, they forced his boss to fire him because they thought he was an american spy, leaving him without a source of income and no family to stay with.]]> 2022-04-01 06:37:10 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2124940116 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2124951513 With food becoming increasingly scarce, Elanor and her mom begin finding other ways to get food. They began trading various things to nearby farmers who had stored many crops before the winter weather hit. They began doing this frequently, and one day on the way to a farmer, Elanor spotter a tall barbed wire fence and checked it out. A beat up "prisoner" was asking for food, and taking a huge risk of breaking the law she talked back to him and gave him some bread. The next day that prisoner was gone and she never saw him again.]]> 2022-04-01 06:47:42 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2124951513 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2126299144 With resources becoming increasingly difficult to come by, even getting electricity became a challenge. During the cold winters of Berlin, Elanor and her family struggled to get through and to stay warm.]]> 2022-04-02 06:51:57 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2126299144 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2126299987 2022-04-02 06:54:04 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2126299987 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2126300338 2022-04-02 06:54:58 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2126300338 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2126301033 2022-04-02 06:56:24 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2126301033 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2126301524 2022-04-02 06:57:38 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2126301524 mcclujac001_1_1 https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2126302667 While the British air raids have stopped, the Soviets have began their own invasion of Berlin. Elanor and her family were shocked by this but still lived as they normally did. Over time the Soviets captured Berlin and captured all military leaders and other leaders they could find and took over peoples daily lives.]]> 2022-04-02 07:00:27 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclujac001_1_1/tb96x4atxvzkmgjb/wish/2126302667